Arte California

Yo! NFL! Go ahead and Sit!

Ok….so the American flag is a piece of cloth. It, (the flag itself), can’t be “disrespected” but the things that it stands for can be. One of the American rights that our flag symbolizes, and that I am seeing being disrespected, is the right to protest. People are trying to destroy the lives of those PEACEFUL protestors who love our country, but who are kneeling or sitting down during the national anthem, simply because they choose to symbolize their objections to police violence and injustice in black America. I object to those things, too. Ending those things will make this a greater country. My friend, Genie Webster posted a quote by Daniel Bunch on her Facebook this morning. It asked, “If you mandate respect for an icon of freedom, can it continue to be an icon of freedom?” No, it can’t. Don’t tell me what to respect, and don’t try to convince me that someone is “bad” or “unAmerican” for exercising their Constitutional right to protest. This is America, not communist China. I’m just as American as you are, and I love my country just as much as every person who chooses to stand during the National Anthem or to dress in red, white and blue. So do those NFL players who are kneeling and sitting. This isn’t about who loves America more. It’s about what is right. Protesting against discrimination and oppression is right, because those things are wrong. This is not about the flag and the anthem. It’s about racism.